SafePlants

Wheatgrass: A Nutritional Overview

Wheatgrass is often touted as a superfood with a variety of health benefits. Here's a closer look at what it is and what the available information suggests.

Considerations for Pets

• One person mentioned getting the idea to grow wheatgrass after buying a cat grass growing kit.

Scientific Name and Common Names

• Scientific Name: Triticum aestivum (specifically the cotyledons)
• Common Name: Wheatgrass

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

• Family: Poaceae (Grass family)
• Taxonomic Rank: Subspecies

Morphological Characteristics and Growth Habits

• Wheatgrass is prepared from the cotyledons (the initial leaves emerging from a seed) of the common wheat plant.
• It is cut when the juvenile shoots reach their most nutritionally rich and fertile phase.
• It is a young grass in the wheat family.
• It has a bright green color.

Distribution and Habitat

• Wheatgrass is grown in the UK using organic wheat grain, organic compost, and natural sunlight.
• Naked Greenz wheatgrass powder is grown in New Zealand's South Island.
• Irish Wheatgrass Juice is grown in Moy, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

Uses and Forms

• It is sold as a juice, powder, tablet, capsule, and liquid.
• Wheatgrass juice is often supplied as a freshly made, 30ml shot.
• It is added to smoothies and cocktails.
• Wheatgrass Fixing Gel is used as a hair styling product.

Quirky Facts

• Wheatgrass is sometimes said to taste like freshly mown lawn clippings.

Reported Properties

• It contains chlorophyll, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E.
• It is high in vitamin E, zinc, and copper.
• It is rich in chlorophyll, which helps protect cells from oxidative damage and free radicals and helps to increase the levels of oxygen in the blood.
• It is considered an alkalizing superfood.

Further Information

• WebMD provides patient medical information for wheatgrass.
• More information and recipes may be found at www.bioglansuperfoods.co.uk.